While it’s as cliche as most encouragement goes, the fact that your work habits can shape your life steadfastly remains true. It influences how much time you can spend not working, how healthy you can eat, how chaotic or peaceful your work and home life will be, and more.
Here are 5 ways to improve your productivity and save time you can otherwise use to go on dates or learn hobbies.
1 Prepare a to-do list before you start
Begin your work systematically by listing down everything you need to do in order of priority. Think about it. You won’t forget to do something if you have them listed down. Additionally, if you can see the list of things you need to do, you can estimate how much time you’ll need for each task and plan accordingly.
2 Focus on a single thing at a time
Multitasking is a hole that’s difficult to get out of. While being able to multitask is commendable, doing multiple tasks simultaneously means you divide your focus and efforts among the tasks you’re doing. This results in outputs that are less than your absolute best and, more possible than not, unfinished tasks.
3 Take a short break
Working for hours straight isn’t healthy for your mind and body. Your muscles and your spine need to stretch after some time. Your eyes also need to rest from continuously looking at the computer screen. Your mind also needs to take a break, or else you’ll easily overwork them and burn yourself out.
4 Keep a notebook handy for when you get inspirations
Like how Isaac Newton discovered gravity when an apple fell on his head, how Archimedes discovered volume and displacement while taking a bath or how the vibrant colors of Arles inspired Vincent Van Gogh to make his paintings more bright until he became fully immersed in art and painting, you can also get inspired at random times. While the ideas or thoughts you suddenly get may not be great discoveries, they can be just what you need when you get stuck while working on your codes or on your artwork.
5 Keep your workspace organized
You’re the only one losing if you waste some time almost turning your table overlooking for your missing stuff. Keeping your workspace organized helps you know where to look for what you need. You also don’t get distracted by the unnecessary things on your table, and you can focus more on your work.
Starting small and changing your work habits for the better can significantly improve your work-life, especially in the long run. Though it might be tempting to do all these listed and more, that is simply sabotaging yourself. Gradually easing yourself to making positive habits while you work will stay with you longer as you also slowly get used to it.
